Fastening for suitcases and the like



Oct. 11, 1938. Ic. w. cHENEY FASTENING' FOB SUITCASES AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1

Cet. 11, 1938.

c. w. CHENEY FASTENING FOR 'SUITCASES AND THE LIKE Filed aan. 5, 1937 Char/e5 M/f//f'am @Q8/1 e y,

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 D bolt.

Patented Oct. 11, 1938 2,133,131 FASTENING FOR SUITCASES-AND THE LIKE Charles William Cheney, Soho, Birmingham, I

` Englandk Application Jauarys, 1937, serial No. 119,071 In Great Britain February 1, 1936 2 Claims.4 (Cl. l0-74) This invention relates to improvements in keylocked fastening means for brief cases, suit cases and. other similar types of hand baggage, and has reference particularly to a fastening means of the type embodying a slidable bolt, Ywhich is retracted against the action of a spring .by means of a hand-operated knob, and which is generally mounted in a plate attached to the Vbody portion of the case, and a hinged member carried by the lid or closure of the case and provided with a staple or notched peg adapted to be releasably en gaged by the bolt.

The object of this invention is to provide a key-locked fastening means of this character, which combines the slidablebolt with other novel features to produce an efficient arrangement capable of being manufactured very cheaply in production.

Briefly the present invention Yconsists of a casing comprising two substantially flat metal plates, one thereof being the front plate and having its wall pierced, the other member forming the back plate and being provided with a depressed area carrying a pivot peg for a tumbler. The two plates are rigidly connected to each other to form the said casing. A slidable bolt is formed by a dished plate which is adapted to lie flush with, and slide within, the recess of the back plate, its surface being formed with a locking and releasing slot. The tumbler is a at plate formed with a stump, and with means for engagement with the bit of a key, and Ais adapted to be revolubly applied to the pivoting peg of the back plate to lie and work within the dished portion of the The spring lies within the dished formation of the bolt, and is a double limbed one operative between the edge of the tumbler and a forward edge of the bolt. The key peg to support the key is arranged so that its bit co-operates with the tumbler. The hand operated knob is applied against the face of the casing and connects with the bolt.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustratively exemplified two embodiments of my invention. l

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the assembled fastening member.

Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1 with the front plate removed and the slidable bolt in fastening position.

Fig. 3 is a similar plan to Fig. 2 but with the slidable bolt retracted.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section, and

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the slidable bolt separately.

Sepa,-

v ing.

The front plate has a right-angled boundary flange a2 giving depth to said plate, and is pierced through its face at a3 and at a4 for purposes hereinafter made clear. l i

The back plate c, shown separately in-Fig'. 7, has a boundary right-angled flang'ec`2 giving this plate depth, and at the corners is provided with -prongs c3 for use in the attachment of this plate, and consequently the fastening member, to the attach case, and particularly this back plate vis provided with a surface recess c4 and with a pivoting peg c5, the latter shaped out from the metal of the bottom o f the recess. This back plate is also tted with a key peg c6, and with certain stops and piercings as will be hereinafter described.

The front plate a and the back plate c fit coincidentally together the one within the other, andV are rigidly secured by clinchings at 'the parts d, e, f and g as clearly shown in Figs. '1, 2 and 3. When so secured the Surface recess c4 is immediately at the back of the front Wall of the front plate as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The slidable bolt h. is of dished cross-section clearly shown at h2 Figs. 4 and 5, the depth of the dishing being such as to allow said bolt to workably lie within the surface recess c4 of the casing. Said dishing is at the nose h3 and at the sides h4, but the back h5 of said bolt is left open, or substantially so. Said bolt is formed with a locking and releasing slot h6, and with a pierced-out stop h1. f

The tumbler i is plate-like and formed with av of the back plate, c, so that its stump i2 Works Within th-e locking and -releasing slot h6 of said bolt.

The back plate has formed from it a stop c1 to limit the swing of the tumbler in both directions as will be clearly seen from Figs. 2, 3, and '7, and is formed with piercings o8, o9. The piercing c8 accommodates the staple on the other fastening member to be engaged by the nose of the bolt as hereinbefore referred to, this piercing to be used for clinching the front and back plates to each other. The piercing o9 serves for said clinching and for clearance in the fitting of a hand-operated knob 7c slidablyand revolubly applied to the face of the front plate.

Said knob lc has a shank k2 passing freely through the piercing a4 and engaging in a circular hole k3 in the bolt h to revolve therein, this shank having rigidly attached to. it inwards of the bolt h a partly revoluble plate Z to revolve and slide with said knob and constitute a catch plate to the bolt h to secure said bolt in fastening position Without keylocking it. The position shown in the drawings of the catch plate Z is one leaving the bolt free to be drawn back from the knob as represented in Fig. 3, the knob, bolt and catch plate sliding as one-piece. If the knob lc is revolved a quarter of a turn, in the hole 7c3 of the bolt as a bearing, the catch plate Z revolves with it and its cam edge Z2 abuts against the clinching lug f of the casing, so that now the bolt cannot be withdrawn from the knob although it is not key-locked. If the spring :i should break at any time this cam-like catch plate Z can serve to move the bolt h into fastening position and secure it there quite independent of the key action. The revolution of the cam plate Z is limited in either direction by the stop h1 shaped out from the bolt h, and clearly shown in- Figs. 2, 3 and 5..

Figs, l and 2 show the bolt in key-locked position the stump i2 of the tumbler engaging -a forward edge of the slot h6. Y

Fig. 3 shows the tumbler in unlocking position and the bolt h retracted, the stump i2 being free in that part of the slot h6 parallel with the bolt.

It will be clear that the key engagesthe key peg c6 and that its bit co-acts with the notch i3 of the tumbler.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 8 the key peg cl is disposed on the bolt, and thetumbler z'lD pivoted on the peg cl5 carries besides the stump z'l2 projecting into the slot hl6 two additional stumps m and n to co-operate'with the bit of a key. The remaining parts are arranged substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1-7, with the difference that in the construction according to Fig. 8 the catch plate Z and the cooperative members are omitted and the knob is clinched to the bolt hl by the lugs o and r, so as to be not rotatable, but only slidable with the bolt.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a keylocked fastening member of the kind described, the combination of a casing comprising a front plate and a back plate', the latter having a depressed area and carrying a pivot peg; means for rigidly connecting said front and back plates to' one another, a bolt of dished form slidably disposed Within said depressed area of the back plate and being provided with a locking and releasing slot; a tumbler rotatably mounted on said pivot peg within the depression of said bolt, said tumbler having a stump to co-operate with the locking and releasing slot of said bolt, and means to be engaged by the bit of a key; a key peg to support a key in engaging position relative to the tumbler; springv means in the casing to act upon'V said bolt and said tumbler, said spring means being disposed withinthe depression of the bolt; and a knob on the outer faceA of the front plate of the casing and connected with said bolt through an opening of said front plate.

2. In a keylocked fastening member of the kind described, the combination of a ycasing comprising a front plate having a rectangular boundary ange and a back plate having a' rectangular boundary flange, a depressed area' in its face, and xed on said face a pivot' peg; means for rigidly connectingsaid front and back plates to one another; a bolt of dished form slidably disposed within said depressed area of the back plate and being provided with a locking and releasing slot; a tumbler rotatably mounted on said pivot peg Within the depression of said bolt said tumbler having a stump to co-operate with thelocking and releasing slot of said` bolt and a notch to be engaged by the bit of a key; a key peg rigidly carried by saidv back plateY to support a key in engaging position relative to the notch of the tumbler; a spring inthe casing to act upon said bolt and said tumbler, saidspring being disposed within the depression of the bolt; anda knob on the outer face of the front plate of the casing and connected With said bolt through an opening of said front plate.

CHARLES WILLIAMy CHENEY. 

